Lovers [2 LP], Nels Cline, Vinyl

Lovers is an expansive double-album that Nels Cline has dreamed of making for over 25 years. Inspired by the likes of Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Gil Evans, Johnny Mandel, Henry Mancini and others, Cline finally realized his ambitious mood music project with an ensemble of 23 stellar musicians conducted and arranged by Michael Leonhart. Lovers was produced by David Breskin and recorded and mixed by Ron Saint Germain. The material on Lovers is wide-ranging; the album s 18 tracks include Cline s striking originals as well as Great American Songbook standards and songs by Sonic Youth, Arto Lindsay, Jimmy Giuffre and others. Cline was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He has led various groups of his own, most consistently the avant-garde ensemble the Nels Cline Singers, and appeared as a guest or feature player on more than 200 albums. In addition, for the last dozen years, he s been a full-time member of the acclaimed rock band Wilco.